The American Angus Association® is pleased to announce that Darnall Ranch, Harrisburg, Neb., was recently named the 2013 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Commercial Producer of the Year. Awards were presented June 13 during the 45th annual BIF Research Symposium and Meeting in Oklahoma City.

"Darnall Ranch is a prime example of a family working together to advance cattle production and beef quality for our industry," says Bryce Schumann, Association chief executive officer. "We congratulate them on their achievement and look forward to the improvements they continue to make in the cattle business."

Darnall Ranch Inc., managed by Gary and Lane Darnall, is a family owned cow-calf operation, feedlot and farm located in the Panhandle of Nebraska, 30 miles southeast of Scottsbluff, Neb. The ranch was originally homesteaded in 1889 by Scott Darnall and incorporated in 1973.

The 124-year-old family ranch now includes some 7th-generation youngsters helping out with 1,700 commercial Angus cows and the Certified Angus Beef ® brand partner feedlot. Today, the cow herd consists of 1,700 commercial Angus females, which produce 300-400 replacement heifers annually. Bulls are developed using expected progeny differences (EPDs), genomics and the GrowSafe system.

The balance of Darnall Ranch offspring are fed out in the 22,500-head Certified Angus Beef LLC-licensed commercial feedlot, where records are collected for conversion, rate of gain, grade and yield, along with a profitability analysis each year.

Darnall Ranch strives to use the land and cattle as an efficient and economical multi-generational agribusiness. Twenty-five thousand acres of grassland, 2,400 acres of irrigated and 4,700 acres of dryland farm ground are used to grow the feedstuffs to help support the cow-calf, yearling and feedlot operations.

For more news and information from the 2013 BIF conference, visit www.bifconference.com.